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Permission or fine: Supreme Court school holiday ruling

Last week the supreme court upheld a ban on unauthorised term-time holidays. It’s a contentious issue that has rumbled on for years with many teachers and parents advocating a discretionary approach to term time holiday requests.

In response to the ruling, Councillor Richard Watts, Chair of the LGA’s Children and Young People Board, said: “Today’s ruling by the Supreme Court provides further clarity but it is important that the Department for Education works with schools and councils to avoid any further doubt about the law.

"What is needed is certainty for parents, teachers and councils, so that head teachers have the confidence to approve or reject requests for term-time leave in the best interests of pupils.”“This is a debate that has rumbled on for years ” said Jason Allison, Customer Insight Specialist, “schools appreciate that if you want to enforce a financial penalty you need to follow a formal, well communicated process. It’s obviously an emotive issue for some parents and our Authorised Absence and Latecomers tracking solutions provides a neutral yet official way for office staff to bring the importance of attendance and punctuality home to the parents as well as the potential financial consequences of unauthorised absence.”